No Mess, No Fuss
by beginningtogo
Summary: This fic starts in 5x04. I have been dying to write amnesia!Stefan for a while (he is a gift!) and what might have happened in a divergent SL. Steroline friendship with later romance.
1. Chapter 1

Stefan threw another of his journals into the fire. In his amnesic state, everything seemed muddled, confused. His brother and his ex had spent all day lying to him. He couldn't relate to the guy in these diaries, surely no one could combine such delusions of grandeur with the daily drudgery of angst and brooding? Two names, however, cropped up time and time again, chinks of light in an otherwise depressing read.

Lexi and Caroline.

Lexi was apparently dead at his dick of a brother's hand, but Caroline was very real and present, and, well, really rather attractive. Pre-amnesia Stefan couldn't have been so terrible if he had her as a friend, his best friend. Just then the door swung opened and Stefan was confronted by the last two people he wanted to see. Yeah, no, he was out of here; Elena's pathetic attempt to stop him barely registering.

Out in the cold night air, Stefan realised that he had no idea where he was going to go. He could remember where the quarry, the high school and the Salvatore crypt were, but none of those really appealed. His phone chirped, he glanced at it.

Caroline calling.

He hesitated, thumb hovering, ready to decline when something buried deep in his subconscious overtook him.

"Caroline." He murmured, enjoying the feel of the syllables rolling off his tongue.

"Hey Stefan, how are you?" Her tone was light, but there was a quiver in her voice. She was worried.

"Well, I haven't killed anyone since I saw you last, but I seem to have made myself homeless."

"Don't worry, you can stay with me. My mom won't mind. Hang on, I'll come pick you up."

Everything would have been fine, if a couple of security guards hadn't stumbled across Stefan as he attempted to lurk in the shadows. He had tried to resist, but soon he had the first man compelled not to move while he gorged on the second man's neck. Suddenly Caroline's car headlights illuminated the sorry scene causing him to freeze mid feed.

"Stefan." She called sharply, slamming the car door. "What did I say earlier? This isn't you, remember? Jeez, you're a messy eater!" She glared disapprovingly at the blood smeared around his lips, across his chin and all over the ground. She checked for a pulse before feeding the injured man her blood, healing his wounds. Her eyes travelled to the other man, recognising him as one of the Grill's regulars, a man who constantly hit on young girls, never taking no for an answer. Excellent, the perfect subject to help teach Stefan a lesson in control. She fixed the chastened vampire with one of her trademark 'you will listen to me' looks. "You once taught me about controlling blood flow, all theoretical of course. You told me to go for the external jugular vein. Rip into the carotid artery and you're in trouble, but the vein…" She grabbed the man's hair gently, pulling his head to one side and running a finger down his neck "It's less fatal, less messy and easier to clean up."

Stefan felt his confusion double as she pushed the man over to him. She wanted him to feed from the vein? After nearly killing two people today? Was she insane? The man's heart thundered in fear and he was about to give himself over to the blood, when something in her eyes stopped him.

He paused.

Memories of line drawings in an old textbook came flooding back, the external jugular vein lying superficial to the sheet of sternocleidomastoid muscle. How the fuck did he remember that and not the stunning blond in front of him? Whatever, his thinking had cleared, her presence calming.

Using the lightest of pressure, he sank his fangs into the man's neck, pausing when he met resistance. The blood swirled into his mouth, slowly, decadently. He didn't need to gulp it back, he tasted it, Sweet and metallic with a rich, bold finish, as if for the first time.

He stopped, satiated. He could do this.

A drop of red oozed from the two perfect puncture wounds catching his eye. The smell intoxicating. He needed more.

As if sensing the change in him, Caroline's hand reached over, her thumb swiping daintily across the wound. She raised her eyes to his. "Look, no dripping blood equals no temptation."

She was right. Wow, she was good at this. "I taught you that? The old adage of 'if you can't do, teach' must really apply in my case."

"No, I came up with that myself."

"My journals said you were a neat freak, Caroline." Her name fell suggestively off his tongue, he couldn't help himself. Stop flirting, you weirdo, she's your friend, the only one you can trust by the looks of things.

"Ha ha. Sometimes it comes in handy." She replied, punching him affably on his arm. "Right, I'm taking you home and I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"OK, bossy." Stefan cringed as he said it, realising that he didn't do nicknames. Home, however, that sounded right, he liked that. Maybe he was going to be alright after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: So this started as a one shot and I was encouraged to build on it. I have brought it back to canon before I diverge it away again. It's really not very friendly to Damon or Elena, but given the poor way they treated Stefan in 5x04, I feel it fits the story. Enjoy!**

A gentle tap on his door woke Stefan from his slumber. He wasn't surprised to find himself in an unfamiliar bed; he supposed that this form of disorientation would be his life for the foreseeable future. He jumped out of bed and pulled open the door. At the threshold stood Caroline, clad in a black dress that hugged her figure, her blond curls neat save for a single straggler that he longed brush into place. To keep his hands busy, he scratched his bare chest. Her eyes widened as she checked out his lithe, toned body, clad in only a pair of boxer briefs. He wanted to tease her for her blatant ogling, but she looked sad, so he didn't push it.

Caroline coughed "Erm," she stuttered. "You might want to put some clothes on. My mom's home."

"Okay." He said, grabbing a t shirt and jeans from his bag and put them on, all the while completely unconcerned that Caroline was trying and failing not to stare.

"I bought coffee." She handed him the cup. "And one of these. Do you want to try it?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" He took a sip and set the cup down.

"Human blood, Stefan." She pulled her best 'duh-you-know-why' face.

"I seem to remember someone trusting me with the fresh stuff last night. What's changed?"

"Maybe I was a little… Maybe I jumped the gun… Stefan, I was silly. I took this whole sober sponsor thing too far." She looked down, studiously avoiding his gaze.

"Hey," He gently took her hand. "I've lost all my memories, but I know you, I trust you and well, you need to trust me. Is that all your upset about?"

She hesitated for a second. "It's Bonnie. My friend, our friend. She's dead."

"What happened?"

"Honestly, I just don't understand. I just don't want to think about it. Because if I do think about it, I'll just start to cry."

"I'm sorry. I...I wish that I could remember her."

Caroline laughed harshly. "I don't know, Stefan, maybe not being able remember is a blessing. I'm never gonna see her again. I spent a whole summer thinking she was having fun with her family and... that you were in Portland drinking coffee and writing weird hipster poetry. I have no idea where…" She stopped abruptly.

"It's okay."

"It's not. I should have known something was up with Bonnie, with you, but I was so self-involved, I just… and now what? I'm supposed to just learn to move on? How do I do that when all I have is this sadness and this anger and–"

"Me. You have me. Look. You were there for me last night. Sounds like you're always there for me." He gently placed his hand on hers. "So, let me be there for you, okay?"

Caroline sighed closing her eyes. "There's going to be a funeral."

"So…?"

"So…?"

"I may not remember Bonnie, but funerals aren't about just for honouring the dead. They are for the living, or in our case the undead, too." He winked. "For those that are left behind to find peace."

"Stefan... Elena will be there and Damon."

"I'll have to face them sometime. Frankly, I don't care enough either way. I'll be on my best behaviour, Scout's honour." He lifted his hand in a mocking salute. "Let me do this for you."

"Okay." She whispered softly.

"Now, can I have my breakfast?" He held out his hand for the blood bag "B+? Really?"

"Hey. What's wrong with a bit of positive thinking?"

"Or a bit of positive drinking?" He grinned, taking a deep swallow of blood, feeling instantly better.

Caroline groaned. "Enough with the horrible puns, you're going to need a suit."

Stefan looked around the motley collection of beings gathered to honour Bonnie Sheila Bennett, a petite, pretty brunette with luminous green eyes. Stefan was surprised to find out that he hadn't put the moves on her either. Damn there were a lot of attractive women in his old life, it made him wonder again, why the hell he had been so obsessed with Elena. To shut him up, Caroline had introduced him to Jeremy a buff, yet annoying youngster who apparently dated Bonnie during the short periods of time when both he and the witch had been alive.

Life in this small town was weird.

His brother was there, of course, holding up a sobbing Elena. Damon was playing his supportive boyfriend role to a tee, lapping up the attention. Yet an air of insecurity, of desperation clung to him; he might not remember his brother, but he could read him like a book. His journals had been an enlightening treasure trove of their bad behaviour. He knew full well that neither he nor Damon had any right to be here given how they had treated Bonnie and her family in the past. And all for the vapid creature clinging to his brother's side. A girl who, just 24 hours earlier, had been flirting with him, trying to remind him of all the good times they had shared, while casually keeping her relationship with his own brother a secret. It wasn't like Damon had 'fessed up that either, a surprise given that their relationship appeared to be defined by falling for the same woman. He decided to keep them at arm's length, it was probably safer that way.

Next to them stood, a tall, blond guy, his face sad and sceptical at the same time. Caroline introduced him as Matt Donovan, former quarterback and now bartender at the Mystic Grill. Putting on a polite smile, Stefan shook his hand and exchanged pleasantries, even though he had no recollection of him and he was dying to rip into his neck and feed. Matt however didn't seem convinced, he couldn't really blame him.

"Care, how do you know that's Stefan and not Silas? His mind could be fried or he could be faking it."

"I know it's Stefan, I just do okay."

"He was pretty off with me, yesterday." Elena butted in.

Caroline looked like she was trying to swallow what she really wanted to say. "Trust me, it's Stefan."

"And he was awful to Damon."

"Elena." There was a warning note in Caroline's voice.

"But..." The brunette clearly wasn't listening.

"Elena, this guy has a rose tattooed on his right shoulder. I doubt Silas has the same one."

Elena visibly recoiled at the implication of Caroline's words. The scene was observed by Damon, now stood by Stefan's shoulder. Quietly, so only Damon would hear, he murmured "You know it's me; why would you let your girl put Caroline through that?"

"It's always fun to watch Blondie hang herself."

"Well, from what I can see, it's just made Elena green with envy. I think I can safely say that backfired on you. This is a funeral, Damon. Let's behave with a little decorum." He turned his attention back to the whole group. "I may not remember Bonnie, but I'm here to support Caroline." He stepped back putting a respectful distance between himself and the rest of the group. "Jeremy, shall we proceed?"

One by one each of the group laid a memento on the tree stump – a treasured photograph, Bonnie's grimoire, a whistle, some pom poms. Elena scattered a handful of white feathers before falling into Caroline's arms, tears rolling unchecked down their faces. Stefan quietly observed feeling nothing, but a vague sadness for a girl taken too young. His instinct was reach out and envelope Caroline in his arms, holding her until her tears ran dry, but he held back genuinely unsure, despite his bravado, of how deep their friendship went. Jeremy gently delivered a heartfelt message from Bonnie to each of them, eliciting more tears. When it was all over, they waved goodbye, promising to meet up at the Salvatore Mansion for the wake.

The wake itself was a hushed, slightly tense affair. The vampires drowned their sorrows in Damon's best Bourbon which he begrudgingly offered up. Jeremy and Matt were more careful, sipping the amber liquid. Occasionally, Jeremy would add a comment of Bonnie's which Stefan found simultaneously comforting and creepy. After having exchanged small talk, Stefan excused himself to pack a bag of clean clothes, hair products and some books from his room that looked promising. He knew he couldn't stay here, but he had no idea where he might go or what he might do. Being around Caroline, his blood lust seemed less, he felt calmer. He could rely on her, but she had her own life which she would eventually want to get back to and where did that leave him?

Returning downstairs, he headed to the kitchen eager to see if there were any blood bags stashed in the fridge. He stopped at the doorway when he heard Caroline's voice. "I thought he would come. I phoned him, Matt. I left messages." She sounded distressed.

"Care, what can I say, I'm sorry. I think it's best if you let it go. He's not coming back."

Stefan's brow furrowed. He had no idea who they were talking about. A boyfriend, maybe? He had caught Caroline kissing that Jesse fellow who didn't seem to have any connection to this group. To his admittedly confused eye, their relationship had looked pretty new, in that flirty, getting-to-know you phase, not established enough to be dragging into their supernatural world. No, it wasn't Jesse. He peeped around the corner, to see Matt gently rubbing Caroline upper arm. Despite the gesture being entirely platonic, a tiny dark flare of emotion shot through Stefan, the urge to feed on Matt returning with avengeance. He shook himself, maybe be had needed a little bunny blood to temper the human stuff coursing through his veins.

He coughed lightly alerting the two of them to his presence. They jumped apart, looking guilty. "Would you mind if we left now?" Stefan asked politely, desperately hoping that Caroline would agree. He need not have worried, they were soon in the little red Porsche heading back to the Forbes house.

Pulling up outside, Stefan decided to bite the bullet. "You and Matt, who were you talking about?"

"Tyler." She replied, not elaborating further, turning her head away from him.

"Caroline, I have no idea who that is. You're going to have to tell me." He knew he was being manipulative, using his amnesia to get her to open up when she clearly didn't want to. He had promised her he would be there for her and he was going to keep that promise.

She looked doubtful for just a second like she didn't think he could handle her woes so he reached out and gently laced his fingers through hers. She sighed and proceeded to tell him the sorry tale of Tyler, Klaus and his horrible revenge. Stefan was vaguely aware of Klaus from some diary snippets and he knew that he was not a guy you wanted to piss off. He felt bad for Tyler, but it was clear that he wasn't coming back to Mystic Falls. "Hey. It sounds like we've both been ditched. We should team up; I bet you would make an excellent wing woman."

She winced a little, but was obviously amused by the idea. "I don't think you need any help."

"I don't know. My taste in women seems kind of terrible."

"I won't be insulted by that." She added, lightly punching him on the arm. She smiled tentative at first, then spreading as he smiled goofily back. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything." He protested. It felt good to see her smile after a day of sorrow and heartbreak. "Let's get inside, enjoy a little nightcap and get some rest."

"After all, tomorrow is another day." He looked perplexed. "Scarlett O'Hara. Gone with the Wind. Oh, never mind. It's probably not your scene, even if you were around when it was set." With that, she exited the car and beckoned Stefan to follow. He didn't hesitate, hoping that Liz would mind having him as a house guest for one more night.


	3. Chapter 3

Moving into Caroline's dorm room had not been Stefan's idea. Sharing such close quarters with a girl he wasn't intimate with, well that hadn't been in his life plan, whatever that might have been. But with Caroline determined to continue her studies, Elena moving back to Mystic Falls in order to help resurrect Bonnie and Stefan needing someone to keep an eye on him, it all seemed logical, in the most implausible way.

Between a careful system of knocks and locks and Stefan's instance on installing a curtain, they managed to maintain their privacy. Not that the curtain was ever closed or either of them ever brought dates back. Caroline was seeing Jesse in a low-key way and Stefan's dates had a distinct pattern, one that was about to play out tonight.

Dinner had been pleasant, the lady in question, Casey, had been chatty and vivacious and he had been happy to sit back and let her talk, mostly about herself. Every time she laughed, she would tip her head, blond hair falling backwards exposing a creamy expanse of neck. He salivated at the thought of the real meal he would be getting later on. He could blame the amnesia, but somewhere deep down he knew he was a bloodaholic and nothing could change that. Only Caroline's tutelage and censorious looks kept him from tumbling down the deep ravine of ripperdom. He snapped his attention back to Casey's monologue, offering up a seductive smile in the hope of wrapping this up quicker.

…

When Caroline had volunteered to help Stefan with his blood lust, she never in a million years thought it would involve sitting up like a frantic mother waiting for their recalcitrant child to get home. She had new appreciation for Liz and her lectures after dealing with the amnesiac vampire. So far, so good, Stefan seemed to have things under control. It didn't stop her hating him feeding on living people and worrying herself sick about it. Unfortunately, it had become necessary after their blood bag supply dwindled dramatically with his almost insatiable needs.

Hearing Stefan's signature knock at the door, she called for him to come in. His hair was messed up, his shirt rumpled and he had an inane grin on his face. To the casual bystander, he looked like a man who had just had a hot make out session with his date, the smear at the corner of his mouth the only thing giving away what he had really been up to.

"You have a little blood..." She indicated on her own face where.

He swiped ineffectually at the area. "Better?"

"Nope," she replied stepping up to him so they were toe-to-toe and gently brushing away the spot with the tip of her index finger. Oh, dumb move, she berated herself, she now had an urge to lick the sweet tasting blood off her finger. As if hearing her thoughts, Stefan took a step even closer and gently grasped her wrist. Locking eyes with her and then holding her gaze for a fraction too long, he softly placed his lips to the tip of her finger, the lightest brush of his tongue removing the remaining blood.

"Stefan." She admonished.

"I know, I know. Boundaries. I'm sorry." The smug grin on his face didn't exactly look like he meant it. He turned on his heel and headed to his corner where he starting stripping off ready for bed.

Caroline looked away. "So, how was this evening? Did you have fun?"

"It was alright." That was his stock response.

"Only alright?"

"Yeah."

"And nobody died?" She half joked.

"No."

"Well, okay. Good night, Stefan."

"Good night, Caroline."

…

From his seat in the back row of the lecture theatre, Stefan casually observed the eager undergraduate students who were now his peers. Caroline had bullied him into enrolling in order to "stop him looking so damn creepy hanging around campus." He had managed within a few short weeks to pick up a reputation as a bad boy, a loner, a tortured soul who just needed the love of the right girl or boy to fix him.

Amnesia Stefan wasn't really any of those things.

Ok so maybe feeding on various girls wasn't exactly good, but at least he wasn't ripping, right? Caroline dragged him out to parties and he actually spoke to people rather than brooding in a corner. And well 'tortured', he definitely wasn't the ridiculous ball of angst from his journals. Plus, he was avoiding any romantic entanglements at the moment because frankly they seemed like a really bad idea.

Stefan hadn't exactly taken a scientific approach to picking his modules, just gone with what seemed interesting. So here he was sitting in human biology trying to follow how glycolysis works while translating a piece of prose from Italian for his next class. The language came surprisingly easily to him considering he couldn't remember ever learning it. It was like an imprint of scaffolding had been left in his amnesic brain and from there, la casa built itself. Completing his assignment, he tried to force his concentration back onto the lecture at hand when his eyes caught on a confident, dark-haired woman several rows ahead of him. He brushed the fact that she reminded him of Elena to one side. He listened for the sound of her heartbeat, it was languid, quiet. He was already feeling excited at the prospect of causing it to thunder as he fed on her. The thrill of the chase, well, there was nothing like it.

Finally, the class let out and Stefan followed the girl. After leaving her friends and turning a corner, he took his chance. "Hey, you're in human biology, right? Have you started the assignment yet? It's kicking my ass." He smiled in what he hoped was a self-deprecating way, enjoying the jump in her pulse rate as he approached.

"It's okay. What are you struggling with?" In true smart girl style, she was clearly downplaying her intelligence.

"If I said all of it, would you think I was stupid?" He shot her his best dopey grin.

She laughed. "No, not really, people's brains aren't all hard-wired the same way. I bet you're good at other subjects." She replied, definitely flirting with him.

He raised an eyebrow suggestively. "Oh, I can think of a few things."

She opened her mouth to reply, but Stefan wasn't listening, all he could hear was the thrum of her blood, he could almost see her carotid artery pulse. He didn't hesitate, just sank his fangs into her olive skin. He wasn't gentle, his teeth tearing rather than piercing the flesh. Her arterial blood flowed quickly, rich and dark, spilling from the two neck wounds. He swallowed trying to catch every last drop, savouring the taste, revelling in it. The girl went limp in his arms, yet he didn't stop. Her heart beat grew fainter and she began to lose consciousness.

Suddenly, he felt a shove and he tumbled to the ground releasing the girl. Caroline rushed to the girl, feeding her her blood and compelling her to forget. She turned to Stefan furious at his behaviour. "What the hell are you doing? Feeding in broad daylight? You're not even being discrete about it."

"I was hungry. I was going to stop."

"You weren't!" She replied. "You would have drained that girl if I hadn't been here. What has got into you?"

He was silent, not wanting to lie to his best friend, unable to find a plausible excuse for his behaviour. His ability to control himself wasn't nearly as good as he made it out to be. Someday soon, Caroline would realise that he was a mess and completely unworthy of her attention.

And that bothered him.

It bothered him a lot.

Which was stupid because Caroline was a friend, nothing more.

"Stefan," She pleaded, quietly. "Talk to me."

"I..." Still unable to get himself together, he vamped away from the scene of the crime, leaving a confused vampire in his wake.

…

Caroline was officially worried about her best friend. Stefan without his memories was volatile, difficult. One minute he was fine, life and soul of the party, the next he was careening off course. She had hoped to quell his restlessness with studies, but he was one of those super annoying students who picked up stuff far too quickly and then spent his time goofing off in class.

They hadn't spoken about the incident with the girl. They had exchanged pleasantries, shot the breeze, discussed the latest celebrity gossip, but deep meaningful stuff, they had avoided. To add to her annoyance, her phone was ringing again for what felt like the hundredth time today.

"Hello, Elena." She sighed deeply, news from Mystic Falls was never good.

"Hey Care, how's Stefan doing?"

"He's fine." She lied.

"Then why isn't he answering his phone?"

"I don't know, Elena. I mean he doesn't remember you so why would he want to speak with you." She tried to keep the sarcasm from her voice.

"I miss him. He was an important part of my life, is an important part of my life."

"You broke up with him to be with his brother and you know what? Stefan took it graciously, he left town, got locked in a safe, thrown in a quarry, drowned repeatedly in freezing water and then had his memories wiped! Jeez, give the guy some space."

"There's no need to be snippy."

"I'm not snippy, I'm... Look, I lied. Stefan's not in a great place right now. He practically rippered out last time you spent any time together and I think he's too fragile to face you or Damon at the moment." Caroline said with as much authority as she could muster. In truth, she had no idea what he needed, but her gut told her that neither Elena nor his brother were the answer. She prayed that she would accept her answer and not ask any more questions. She wasn't in the mood for disapproval.

"Okay. Whatever you think is best, but call me if there's any change."

"Will do. Bye 'Lena."

"Bye, Care."

Caroline sighed again the weight of the situation heavy on her shoulders, she needed to confront Stefan. That was not going to be a fun conversation.

…

Stefan was sat at his desk about to start on some reading when Caroline came sailing in their room brandishing some spicy smelling food and clinking bottles of beer.

"Eat with me, Stefan." She demanded. "I got greedy and bought too much food."

He saw straight through her transparent plan, but he didn't mind. "Hey. I'm not that hungry, but who am I to resist whatever the hell that is?"

"Tacos and you are going to love them!" Caroline, ever prepared, grabbed her picnic rug, placing it down in front of the fire which Stefan liked to keep burning now the weather had turned. She set out the food explaining in minute detail exactly what each dish was. He popped the caps off their beers, handing her one. They sat in silence enjoying the food and each other's company. Caroline was the first to speak as always "How are the metaphysical poets?"

"Well you know a bit meta, a bit physical. What was I thinking taking a poetry module?"

"Honestly, I have no idea why you picked any of your modules." She smiled, he returned it. He seemed relaxed, the cosy firelight fuelling the feeling of intimacy. She decided to bite the bullet. "What happened the other day?"

He could play dumb, pretend not to understand, but he knew she would see right through him. Because of who he was, because of who she was and because deep down, they were the same. From their abuse as humans to their transitions to their dysfunctional family dynamics, they were the same. Only Caroline was good, she as in control, unlike him. "I was sloppy, I didn't take my time and it came up and bit me on the ass. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

She released the breath she didn't even realise she had been holding. "We all slip up sometimes, it's what makes us who we are. You can control this, Stefan. As much as I hate you feeding on humans, the alternative could be so much worse."

Stefan felt a stab of guilt, an echo of a previous life. Caroline had explained his issues with feeding and human blood, but Damon had been insistent on the nature of vampirism. The two points of view seemed at odds with each other. "I'm a hassle, though? A distraction?" That feeling of remorse surged, again.

She reached out gently taking his hand. "Is that how you see yourself?" In the months since he lost his memory, his brooding had taken a back seat. "Stefan, you're my best friend here. The only one who truly knows what I am. Sure you're cocky, belligerent and sometimes even fun, but a hassle? Never."

"Honestly, I provide the top shelf alcohol and cook occasionally, but you're the one keeping me sane, cleaning up after me. Surely you would rather be out planning parties, pledging a sorority, chasing cute boys?" His thumb rubbed lightly over her knuckles, a subconscious move which calmed his thoughts.

"I just want to be me for a bit and right now 'being me' is about helping you. You're a good person, Stefan. You always have been. You don't remember, but I do and I'll remember for the both of us." The fire crackled gently in the silence, warming the two vampires. "This doesn't let you off the hook, though."

"I know." He replied, slipping his arm around her shoulder. She leant in enjoying the closeness as she finished the last of her beer. When he dropped a kiss on the top of her head, it felt natural and made more sense than anything else that had happened in the last few months.

…

"You know you owe me."

Stefan knew this day would come and by the tone of her voice, there would be no saying no to whatever she wanted him to do. "Ummm" He replied, noncommittedly.

"I need your help with the play."

"Nope, not doing it. I am not wearing tights." He whined.

"Stefan." Caroline could be quietly threatening when she wanted to be.

"Can't Jesse do it? This seems like a boyfriend job."

"He's not my boyfriend and he's the one who has dropped me in it. He's blown me off to do an important experiment with Dr. Maxfield." She subtly moved into his personal space and gently brushed his arm. "Please Stefan," her voice was breathy, soft and instantly beguiling. "It's only a minor part."

He knew he was a goner. She had him cornered, his tiny brain too overloaded to string a coherent sentence together. "Okay." It was all he could manage.

"Great, I'll see you at the auditorium at 3." And with that she whooshed away.

…

Caroline had felt guilty for manipulating Stefan for about 30 seconds. She couldn't help it if he was such a damn puppy dog sometimes. Still, she had been stuck and he did owe her. She was Caroline Forbes and she always saved the day. She just hoped all the students milling around waiting for the dress rehearsal to started appreciated her.

At 3pm exactly, Stefan slunk in, hands in stuffed in his pockets looking like a man about to face the gallows. Immediately, he was jumped upon by Jodie, a senior year Drama major who was directing and who had got her flirt on. His face dropped further, a feat she didn't think possible, and Caroline decided it was time to rescue him. "Let me introduce you, this is my friend Stefan. He's the one that's going to help us out."

"Oh Care, you are naughty. How could you keep this delicious guy from all of us?" She made him sounds like a meal.

"He's shy. Aren't you, Stefan?"

"Oh yes, absolutely. In fact, I get so tongue tied and my memory is terrible." He was hamming it up now. "I know I'll just freeze when everyone is looking at me."

"It's okay. The audience won't be looking at you."

"Caroline said it was a small part. Am I just second tree on the left, or something?"

"No, silly." Jodie turned to Caroline. "He knows he's prompting, right? Although he really should be on the stage. He would pull in such a crowd..."

Stefan had completely tuned Jodie out and was glaring at Caroline. She, in turn, looked like the cat who got the cream. "You let me believe I was going to be on stage." He hissed.

"You jumped to conclusions. How's that my fault?"

He gnashed his teeth a little, still giving her the evil eye.

"Calm down, all's well that ends well. This is good, right?"

He had to admit that a felt a certain sense of relief and even a little excitement that he would get to spend time watching Caroline up on stage in all her glory. Oh, and that he wouldn't be wearing tights. That was a massive plus.

…

The tiny back stage was buzzing with final night nerves. A small bunch of daisies clasped in his hand, Stefan immediately located Caroline, looking calm and radiant, ready to light up the stage like she had done the two previous nights. Her part was minor, she was only a freshman after all, but, in his admittedly biased opinion, she added something special to the production.

She spotted him and beckoned him over, a huge smile breaking across her face. In the last week, they had spent almost every waking hour together, running lines, handing out flyers, selling tickets. It had been fun and he had enjoyed seeing her smile. In addition, he had stuck to blood bags, a fact that seemed to please her, although she never mentioned it. "Hey." She greeted him.

"Hey, these are for you." He thrust the flowers into her hands, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"My favourite, thanks. Guess who's here to see the play?"

Please not Jesse, he prayed to himself. "Who?"

"Hi Stefan."

"Sheriff Forbes! It's good to see you." He grabbed the startled woman and hugged her effusively.

"Okay, enough. Put my mom down."

"It's good to see you too, Stefan and please, call me Liz." She chuckled. "I have to say my house is much quieter without you two cluttering up the place."

"I'm guessing Mystic Falls is quieter too, fewer murders."

"Well your brother's still hanging around so quiet maybe isn't the right word. Speaking of Damon, you should call him some time. He misses you." Liz quietly suggested.

Caroline's eyebrows hiked as Stefan stiffened. She glared at her mom and opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. "My brother and I have spent the last century and a half barely communicating; I doubt a few more months will make any difference."

"Still, he does miss you."

"Thanks, Liz. I'll keep that in mind." He murmured politely.

Just then the call bell sounded and the trio were saved from further awkward discussions as the actors and stage hands took their places, ready for curtain up.

…

The performance had gone splendidly and Stefan had been largely redundant which suited him just fine. He tried to head back stage to congratulate Caroline and maybe grab a few moments alone with her before they headed to the cast party. In an ideal world, he would talk her out of the party completely so they could head back to their room and drink Bourbon by the fire, but this was Caroline and that would never happen.

First Jodie grabbed him, giving him a hug and thanking him stepping into the breach. Next it was Aaron, a quiet lad, who had forgotten his lines more than he had remembered them. In desperation, Stefan had compelled him to remember them on pain of death. Obviously not a normal method of prompting, but an effective one none the less. After several more back slaps, handshakes and bro hugs, he got to the back-stage area, his eyes alighting on his target. Caroline was perched on a table beside a spectacular florist bouquet of peonies and lilies. She looked beautiful, a shaft of street light in the darkened room, illuminating her freckles where she had scrubbed off all the heavy stage make up. She smiled and his heart soared.

From the shadows loomed a figure. Caroline's grin widened as they moved closer invading her spot light. She and Jesse made a handsome if mismatched pair, after all what hope could there be for a human/vampire relationship long term. As the smiles turned to giggles, he reached over and kissed her.

A flare of emotion hit him.

A punch in the gut.

A feeling of envy which Stefan didn't understand one bit. Caroline was his friend, his best friend and that's all she was. Anything else was impossible. It had to be for both their sakes.

…

 **AN: As a Steroline shipper, I'm sort of sorry having Jesse as a romantic interest for Caroline, but I also shipped Forwood in the day and wanted a ship that was free of MF drama/angst. I kept Jesse human because the Augustine vampire SL was a big pile of crap. I intend to tie Steroline back into the MF drama and getting Bonnie back, but I wanted to give them a bit of breathing space first. Let me know what you think.**


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